Qantas will cut 850 local jobs after a deal with professional tech services firm Accenture to ‘modernise its back-end systems, processes and data’. These functions will mostly be shifted to India as the airline pushes deeper into artificial intelligence.
The first phase will affect staff in finance, procurement, human resources and marketing. This shift will begin taking effect in mid-2027 and continue “over coming years”
The cuts follow earlier reductions at the airline’s Sydney Mascot office. The airline says this will cut costs and increase efficiency amid high fuel costs and rapid technological change.
Plans to offshore, under an internal program known as Project iQ, were first announced in August this year. A union representing workers, the Australian Services Union, sought assurances at the time that Qantas was not planning to outsource Australian jobs.
Qantas said consultations with the union are ongoing.
In an email sent to all Qantas staff announcing the cuts, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said, “I know this is hard news for some, and I’m sorry for the uncertainty it brings.”
Hudson emphasised the importance of growing the airline with the times, citing the impact of AI and the modernisation of more than 1000 back-office systems the airline currently uses.
Hudson said Qantas and Accenture will together “redesign and simplify parts of how our corporate functions operate and reduce duplication”